A Child's Point of View
by SgtFUBAR
Summary: H/Y Because of Rick, Yelina and Horatio are able to tell each other how they feel with a little help from Ray Junior of course. Rated 'T' just to be safe. ; One-shot.


**A/N:** I hope you enjoy it. :)

**Summery:** (H/Y) Because of Rick, Yelina and Horatio are able to tell each other how they feel (with a little help from Ray Junior of course.)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CSI Miami or any of the characters.

**A Child's Point of View**

"Ray, get the door!" Yelina yelled from her bedroom, her voice still shaky from recent events. Ray Junior climbed out of his bed quickly, hurrying down the stairs to answer the door. Although it was dark outside, he could still make out the silver Hummer parked outside in their driveway. He smiled sadly as he opened the front door. Without saying a word, the boy stepped aside, letting the man in then shutting the door behind him. About a half hour earlier, Ray had called him; his uncle, Horatio Caine. Probably the only man who could make this all go away like he did to everything else that was bad in his nephew's life. Of course, by 'this', he meant his mom and 'boyfriend's' arguing. Usually, his mother and boyfriend, Rick Stetler, an Internal Affairs sergeant, would only get into small arguments that started out as nothing, but up until recently Rick started hitting her and it scared the crap out of Ray Jr. Once again, he had been stuck in his room listening to the frightening commotion downstairs which had ended with Yelina kicking Rick out of the house. But, he'd be back. _He always comes back…_

Ray Junior and his uncle sat down on the couch, the boy unsure of whether he was ready to talk about what happened or not. But, he had to. _That's why you called Uncle Horatio, wasn't it? _A small voice in his head reminded him.

"How come you never come around anymore, Uncle Horatio? I miss you so much and so does mom" he questioned, hoping he would get some other answer besides 'I've been too busy at work to drop by lately.'

"I know –I know you do, but I just don't want to upset your mom by coming around too much, especially now that she has someone else to keep her company."

"That bastard doesn't do anything around here." He muttered.

"Ray don't say that…" the redhead scolded, knowing exactly who the boy was talking about, "…I'm sure your mother loves him very much and you should respect that." Those words left a bitter taste in Horatio's mouth.

"But, I'm scared, Uncle Horatio" he said in a low tone.

"Scared of what, son?"

"Of Rick!" he said, raising his voice a little. "Why can't you just make him go away?"

"Now Raymond, you know I can't do that. Your mom can date whomever she wants to. I have no control over the situation."

"Yes you do! You're Uncle Horatio; you can do whatever you want" he whined.

"No, I can't, Ray. It's not any of my business and –"

"Yes it is! Uncle Horatio, he hits her" he interrupted, "They argue _all_ the time…" he sniffled, tears streaming down his eyes, "…about me, about you and, Rick, he just gets _so_ upset." Horatio pulled Ray Junior in for a hug, realizing how much the boy had been hurting all the while his mom was seeing Rick and mentally cursing himself for being so blind. Horatio knew Ray Junior didn't like Rick, but he didn't know it bothered him this badly and figured that maybe, he should try to explain to him the situation between him and his mother.

"I just wish you could be here when it happens so that Stetler could go away."

"I wish I could too, but –"

"But what?" Ray Junior questioned, leaving his uncle's embrace as he sat back onto the couch.

"It's just that…Well…"

"Let me guess, it's complicated, right?" Horatio remained silent, not sure of what to say to the boy. "You and mom are so use to telling me that things are complicated, that it's all you two know how to say anymore. I need a real answer Uncle Horatio."

Horatio took a deep breath, "Listen Ray, I'm so sorry for not being there for you two when all this was happening, but you have _no_ idea of how much I love your mother. You two are everything and I mean _everything_ to me and I'm afraid that if I let your mother know how I feel about her, there's a chance I might lose you both forever."

"But that's not going to happen" he shook his head.

"Why is that?" Horatio questioned, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he looked up at his nephew.

"Because mom loves you just as much as you love her, if not more" Horatio shifted his gaze to the space on the ground between his feet and grinned at the boy's word's. He would've never thought in his life that he would hear those words, especially from Ray Junior. "Before this whole Stetler thing, mom was so happy to have you around." His tone softened, becoming more serious "I mean, you should see her, she would just get so excited when you were coming over for dinner. She would race around the house getting everything set for the night. Her make up and her hair had to be perfect and of course the food, too." Horatio smiled, imaging Yelina scrambling about to get everything done before he arrived. "But, even now, when Stetler's not home, she would sit on the couch and stare at that photo of the three of us on the beach when I was little. She would cry sometimes though, and that when I really wished things would be like they were back then."

"I'm sorry, Ray."

The boy smiled, "I don't think I'm the one you're supposed to be apologizing to, Uncle Horatio" he said, nodding over in the direction of the staircase.

Horatio felt a blush creep in, at the same time his heart nearly jump out of his chest. He stood up as Ray Junior ran over to hug his mother at the bottom of the staircase. He continued watching from a distance as Ray fell into her embrace then suddenly ran upstairs to his room, but not before stopping to wink at his uncle before leaving.

Horatio couldn't believe that she had heard all that he just said. He spilled the very secret that he never wanted her to hear. The secret that he was afraid would ruin his relationship with her. He had no clue as to how she would react, but he would just have to wait and see. There was no reeling in his words after this.

Horatio's eyes finally wandered over to Yelina's, whose were glistening with tears that threatened to fall. He began to walk toward her when he heard her call his name which made him stop in his tracks. Yelina took a few steps forward, meeting him halfway, and then looked up into his eyes. She suddenly felt a wave of emotion wash over her as she stared into those blue eyes of his.

'Hey" she blinked as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Hey." Horatio replied in a gentle tone. He clenched his fists as he fought to stop himself from reaching out to wipe her tears away. He wanted to be as careful as possible, but still tell her what he'd been meaning to tell her for years now.

Yelina bowed her head, desperately trying to think of something to say, but she simply couldn't. Not after what she had just heard. What exactly do you say after someone genuinely confesses their love for you?

She looked back up when Horatio began to speak. His voice always had a way of making her feel like nothing could go wrong, though they already had. "Yelina…" He began, speaking with a certain depth to his voice that even he himself was unsure of where it came from. He was trying to figure out exactly how he would end the sentence. This was a very delicate situation, and he was determined to treat it as such. "Yelina, I'm sorry I wasn't there. I could've maybe. . ." Yelina had cut him in the middle of his sentence. That was probably better for him, though. He had no clue what he could've done.

"Horatio, it's not your fault, it's mine. I should've never brought Rick into our lives"

Horatio shifted his weight from one leg to the other. _How could it be her fault? She didn't ask for him to abuse her like that_. "It couldn't have been your fault, Yelina. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Yelina was mezmorized by the sheer tenderness in his voice. She definitely didn't know how to tell now -to tell him that the only reason she started dating Rick was to spite him, to make him pay for keeping Madison a secret. She couldn't imagine breaking his heart again. What would he think of her for doing something like that? No, she couldn't tell him. But she had to. She couldn't live with the guilt of having him wallow in his self pity. All these thoughts were pushing themselves through her head as she stood there just staring at him.

"Horatio…I never loved Rick. The only reason I started dating him was to upset you." Her words stung as Horatio stood there taking in all that she had to say. But still, he couldn't blame her for being upset. "I just needed you to know what it felt like to have your heart broken. Horatio, Rick meant _nothing_ to me." Yelina looked down at the space between the two and wiped the tears from her cheeks, trying to gather all the courage she could to tell him how she really felt about him.

Horatio stood there, still fighting the urge to reach out and touch her, to pull her into his arms and make everything wrong that was happening disappear. He was about to speak when she looked back up at him with what seemed like a smile on her face.

"I'm tired of doing this, Horatio..." she said in a low voice. "...and I only wish that you would forgive me for what I did. I love you so much and I just-I can't do this anymore, Horatio I love you." she repeated. Caution was thrown to the wind as he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his. Yelina felt her knees go weak as his tongue slid into her mouth, amorously mingling with hers. Horatio snaked his arm around her waist, holding her body closer to his as he deepened the kiss, yearning for the sweet taste she left in his mouth.

"I forgive you, Yelina" Horatio said between kisses, slowly running his hand along the small of her back. When they had parted, Yelina smiled, lightly brushing her thumb over the groove of his now reddened top lip then down beneath his bottom. He grinned, lowering his head to kiss the palm of her hand them pulling her in for a hug. "I love you, Yelina" he whispered into her hair.

The couple remained there for a while, enjoying their closeness. Yelina stood listening to the relaxing sound of his heart beating in his chest and Horatio; enjoying the feeling of having the love of his life in his arms.

* * *

**A/N**: There it is. As you can see I love writing H/Y fics with little Ray in it. R&R please!


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